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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26173180">Arm for an Eye</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhythmloid/pseuds/Rhythmloid'>Rhythmloid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1k, AU, Angst, Dark, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Eichenwalde, Eye Gouging, Eye Trauma, Gore, M/M, OOC, Prosthetic Arm, implied amputation, personality change</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:20:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26173180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhythmloid/pseuds/Rhythmloid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Balderich had never died in Eichenwalde? But something in him changed? Something dark...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Balderich von Adler/Reinhardt Wilhelm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Arm for an Eye</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Big ol' fat warning for gore. This is an AU of a little thing I was thinking of if Balderich never died in Eichenwalde and lived on, but never quite being the same again, along with Reinhardt. This is just a small little writing thing, nothing huge.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reinhardt sat in the hospital bed. The light blue hospital gown he wore matched with the rest of the drabby all too clean room he stayed in. His head hung low and a bandage was placed over his damaged eye.  The OR-14 unit that sliced his face had permanently damaged his eye and left it blind, practically useless. His back ached from the bullets that shot through him as he tried to protect what soldiers were left from the massacre that happened in Eichenwalde. The doctor told him to get some rest, but how could he after that stupid mistake he made? </p><p>“Reinhardt.” said a familiar voice. Reinhardt’s head shot up and turned around. It was him! But how? He thought he had left him behind in Eichenwalde castle! The stab from the OR-14 unit should have slowly killed him!</p><p>“Balderich-! But, But how!?” Reinhardt stammered, utterly baffled by how Balderich could still possibly be alive. He was trapped by those omnics, he was sure of it!</p><p>“I’m almost as surprised as you are,” Balderich answered. His voice was low, much different than his usual jolly, happier tone. He sounded hurt, disappointed even. Although after the awful incident in Eichenwalde, it was understandable. Balderich’s home was completely demolished. The streets, buildings, and people, all gone. Eichenwalde was rendered a ghost town. He grew up there before becoming a crusader and he couldn’t even protect his home like he was supposed to.</p><p>Reinhardt looked down to see a silver mechanical arm resting by Balderich’s side. It reached all the way to his shoulder with some flesh poking out. The arm looked like a prototype but the way his fingers twitched made it seem like it was functioning as a real hand. It was almost perfect in every way. </p><p>“B-Balderich I… what happened?” Reinhardt continued to try and push the words that were stuck in his mouth out. He was clearly fixated on the sleek, silver mechanical arm Balderich had. </p><p>“They saved me, but not my arm. A few of my organs needed a bit of repair but I’ll live.” He still sounded bitter. Something in him had changed, or maybe even snapped. Guilt continued to wash over Reinhardt. If he wasn’t so reckless neither of them would have gotten hurt. Part of him was happy his commander was alive and semi-well, but the other half tore at him asking how he could have done such a thing. Reinhardt sat there, not being able to do much of anything.</p><p>“Commander… I am sorry… I know I shouldn’t have run out there like that and you had to come in and save me and, and-”</p><p>“Save it, Lieutenant,” Balderich stopped him. “You don’t need to say anything.” </p><p>The room fell quiet. They both looked at each other. </p><p>“Reinhardt… I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how disappointed I am in you. But… it’s my fault,” Balderich continued on. “I should have disciplined you more. I was slacking and now look at us. But don’t you worry…” The commander stepped forward, looming over Reinhardt. Balderich cupped Reinhardt’s face, gently lifting it up.</p><p>“I’ll make sure this sort of thing never happens again.”</p><p>Balderich looked into his face. Reinhardt’s eye was grey now, with some red from a few popped blood vessels and the medication he was taking to numb some of the pain. Balderich’s mechanical thumb brushed gently over his cheek, almost lovingly, slowly moving up to his cheekbone. Reinhardt couldn’t help but feel confused. It felt nice to have Balderich touching him again but something felt a bit off. He was never like this. What happened to his jovial self? He was acting so strangely it made him uncomfortable. The mechanical hand made its way near Reinhardt’s eye, his thumb hovering right over it. </p><p>Before Reinhardt could get a word out, Balderich pushed his thumb down on his eye, slowly pressing harder and harder. Reinhardt couldn’t see from the eye any more but he still felt the pain of Balderich’s blunt mechanical thumb pressing and pushing the nerves inside his eye. The thumb dug deeper and deeper, testing the eye’s strength and the nerves and blood vessels around it. The eye started to push deeper and deeper into his socket. Reinhardt couldn’t take it anymore. His voice was caught in his throat, no words could come out. Reinhardt squirmed as his nerves begged Balderich to stop what he was doing. He grabbed onto Balderich’s arm, trying to put it awake but the mechanical arm wasn’t budging. He learned his lesson! He wouldn’t run off like that again! He couldn’t plead or beg, just look at Balderich in the eyes asking why he was doing this, why he was hurting him like this-</p><p>Suddenly he felt a pop and something tingle down his cheek. Balderich finally pulled his hands away from his face. Reinhardt was frozen, still trying to process what happened. He took a look at Balderich’s mechanical hand to see white jelly and red. His blood and parts of his eye coated his thumb in a strangle unsettling manner. Blood slowly dripped down his cheek. It almost didn’t look real. Didn’t feel real.</p><p>Finally, Reinhardt cried out in pain. Half of his face felt like it was burning. He could feel his body scream with him as the nerves throbbed in his socket. His stomach churned and he instinctively held a hand to his mouth. Nothing but the acid in his stomach came up and burned in his mouth. His breath was shaky and he felt like crying. </p><p>Balderich looked down on him, giving the crusader a sinister smile. He felt satisfied with what he had done. </p><p>“I think you’ve finally learned your lesson, wouldn’t you say Reinhardt?” Balderich walked away, wiping the mess from his hands on his pants.</p><p>“Oh, and one more thing…” He started, turning around as he hung out the door. “I’ll be seeing you early in the morning once your little eye problem is fixed Lieutenant.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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